Vita and PlayStation 3 Create Gaming Perfection for Families, If Only They Knew It

Uncovering the Vita and PS3′s multimedia and Cross-Controller features is key for them to win over family gamers.

Sometimes I think the main reason that Nintendo does well with families is that they are good at communicating their technical features. The Wii U is case in point here, most of the functions were already possible on the PS3 and PSP but no one really knew it was possible — and certainly not families.

With the Vita extending these functions there is more reason than ever to get the word out to families about the functionality they already have in their homes without even knowing it. The key thing here is to find an understandable hook to hang these conversations on. Without a Wii-Sports or Nintendo Land equivalent I think I’ve found the perfect vehicle for this on PlayStation — PlayTV.

If you’ve not come across this it’s the external tuner and software that turns your PS3 into a personal video recorder. Watch live TV, pause, rewind and record, it’s clever stuff and looks very nice using all that extra horsepower the PlayStation has sat under its hood.

PlayTV is just the start though. As you can see in my Family Gamer TV episode here, talking about it soon leads to other complimentary features that the PS3, Vita and PSP have. Remote Play is a great example, paired with PlayTV it enables you to access both live TV and recorded programs via your PSP or Vita. Simply connect to the PS3 network and you can access all your recordings anywhere, it’s Slingbox by another name and without the price tag. You can even setup the PS3 to turn itself on remotely so you can access your games and films from anywhere in the world.

Talking about Remote Play gets us into playing games remotely as well as streaming media. With re-released titles like Ico and Shadow of the Colossus HD and God of War HD supporting this feature it’s fast becoming a key aspect of what the Vita and PSP have to offer. Vita then extends this with a four “Cross” functions perfect from family gamers: Cross-Play, Cross-Buy, Cross-Controller and Cross-Save…

Cross-Play enables you to play online between a Vita and PS3. Although you currently can’t do this without a Wireless Internet connection, for families this is still a great new way to play. Not only can you save on buying extra Dual Shock controllers but you can also play in different rooms of the house (or even different countries if dad’s away traveling for work). Games like Wipeout 2048, PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale and When Vikings Attack are good examples of this.

Cross-Buy enables you to buy-one-get-one-free for particular Cross-Play games, Wipeout 2048, When Vikings Attack and PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale are recent examples. This is a nice way for families to play games across different systems without buying multiple copies. This is also extended by shared in-game purchases, Cross-Goods means that items purchases in Assassin’s Creed III on the PS3 are also then in Assassin’s Creed Liberation on the Vita.

Cross-Controller enables you to use the Vita as a controller for a PS3 game. Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 and LittleBigPlanet are games that offer this — in fact Little Big Planet 2 DLC tomorrow will enable features where you trigger game play elements on the Vita like poking flying chickens and their eggs drop onto the PS3. As well as novel new game-play, for families this can offer a simpler way to control a game and bring put the screen in the hands of younger players for easier access. I’d love to be able to pay Uncharted with my Vita as a controller as I much prefer the targeting on Golden Compass — maybe one day?

Cross-Save shares your save files between Vita and PS3 games so you can stop playing on the PS3 and continue later on the Vita. It’s a little like Skylanders Giants ability to use its figures on different consoles. Ratchet & Clank: QForce, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time and Sound Shapes are recent examples and enable families to play whether at home or on the go.

PlayTV tuner for PS3 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

These turn the PS3 and Vita combination into an experience ideally suited for families. Being able to use the Vita as the PS3 controller (Cross-Controller), then continue playing the game in the car on the Vita (Cross-Save), before getting to a friend’s house to play a family favorite at theirs (Cross-Purchase) is some considerably joined up game design. Add to this the ability to play games and watch media remotely via Remote Play and it’s starting to feel like the future.

I recently forgot to set a favorite show to record before going away on holiday and was able to use Remote Play to add the recording slot to PlayTV with my Vita over the Internet. Magic!

Provided that Sony and third party developers continue to extend the list of games that support these features, there is a very bright future ahead for the PS3 and family gamers — not to mention the ongoing support of Move games with Wonderbook: Book of Spells and Tumble…

Of course all this will be familiar to most people who follow gaming coverage regularly, but not for families. So your homework is to share this with parents and friends who may not already know what their PS3 can do. It may even save them some money on buying new hardware, and introduce some new ways for their family to enjoy games together.

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As a family man myself, I couldn’t agree more. Another point is that with the Vita, I can play high-quality games anywhere even if my wife or daughter are using the TV. There’s something great about being able to play God of War while your wife is using the TV to watch HGTV. By the way, I think you meant to say you Golden Abyss has the shooting mechanics you love. Not Golden Compass… which was a great book and mediocre everything else. I also prefer it now and wish that all shooters could use the motion controls of the Vita.